Attachment for fur sewing machines

ABSTRACT

A loose hair collecting attachment for fur sewing machines employing an air jet for deflecting fur from between fur skin strips in advance of stitched seam formation. A chute, specially designed to optimize the collection of loose hair particles, is mounted on the machine and is operative to convey the particles to an air pervious sack or receptacle. The chute may be provided with an air jet assist or may be used in conjunction with a vacuum cleaner.

United States Patent [1 1 Olday 1 1 Apr. 2, 1974 ATTACHMENT FOR FUR SEWING MACHINES [76] lnventor: Fred L. Olday, Box 1255, Scranton,

22 Filed: Feb. 16, 1973 21 Appl.No :333,340

[52] US. Cl. 112/20, 112/218 R 51 Im. Cl....D05b 2 3/09, 13051 311 99, D05b 81/99 [58] Field of Search 112/218 R, 20,18,16, 112/27, 149, 25, 26

[56] References Cited UNITED STATES PATENTS 6/1937 Vesconte 112/218 R 5/1968 Denora 112/218 R 3,664,281 5/1972 Shulman ct al. 112/20 Primary Examiner-H. Hampton Hunter Attorney, Agent, or Firm-Lane, Aitken, Dunnerv & Ziems [57] ABSTRACT A loose hair collecting attachment for fur sewing machines employing an air jet for deflecting fur from between fur skin strips in advance of stitched seam formation. A chute, specially designed to optimize the collection of loose hair particles, is mounted on the machine and is operative to convey the particles to an air pervious sack or receptacle. The chute may be provided with an air jet assist or may be used in conjunction with a vacuum cleaner.

7 Claims, 10 Drawing Figures PATENTEBAPR 2mm 3L800 717 saw 2 BF 5 FAIENIEDAPR 2l974 3 800 717 sum 3 m 5 Y FIG. 5.

.MENTEDAPR 2 I974 SHEET 4 0F 5 FIG 7.

ATTACHMENT FOR FUR SEWING MACHINES BACKGROUND OF THE- INVENTION This invention relates to an attachment for fur sewing machines and more particularly, it concerns a loose hair particle collecting attachment especially adapted for use with fur sewing machines of the type in which a stream of air is directed downwardly between two strips of fur to be sewn so that the hair on the strips is deflected downwardly out from between the strips in advance of seam formation.

The basic sewing machine most commonly used in the fur industry at the present time incorporates a pair of opposed horizontal feed discs to define a vertically oriented nip through which inverted strips of fur are fed to a horizontal needle located above the discs for the formation of a stitched seam. The mechanical organization of such sewing machines is best illustrated in U.S. Pat. No. 2,132,379 issued Oct. 11, 1938 to C. Bonis. Although virtually universal acceptance by the fur industry has more than adequately demonstrated the desirable attributes of this basic machine, a reduction in the degree of skill required for its operation as well as increased efficiency and production have resulted from attachments and/or improvements of the type shown, for example, in more recent U.S. Pat. Nos. 3,570,425 and 3,664,281 issued respectively on Mar. 16, 1971 and May 23, 1972 both to the inventors, Arthur Shulman and Henry M. Bonis, Jr. and also in U.S. Pat. No. 3,572,268 issued Mar. 23, I971 to the present inventor. Included in such attachments is an air conduit which, during operation, develops a downwardly directed stream of air for the purpose of deflecting hair downwardly out from between two strips being sewn so that the hair will not interfere with or be incorporated in the stitched seam to be formed. The air stream or jet avoids the tedium and degree of skill formerly required with a manual technique for removing the hair from the seam and also serves to clear the fur of loose hair particles present in the fur strips as a result of a slicing operation which precedes the sewing. The entrainment of these loose hair particles in the air stream, however, with no provision for their collection quite obviously creates problems of health and cleanliness to the sewing machine operator. Moreover, the working environment of fur sewing machine operators as a result of the loose hair particles is even more aggravated by the presence of several machines in a single small and not often well ventilated room.

Heretofore, no satisfactory provision has been made for collecting loose hair particles as they are dislodged from the strips of fur during the sewing operation. The aforementioned U.S. Pat. No. 3,570,425 discloses the use of an air circulating system involving essentially a conventional vacuum cleaner with the high pressure or output side connected to the conduit developing the jet of air and the intake side connected to a vacuum nozzle located in the vicinity of the machine base. Although in theory, a substantial portion of the dislodged hair particles would be removed from the air and collected with such a system, the results achieved in practice have been disappointing. Specifically, it has been found that where the vacuum nozzle is located in a suitable position to allow unrestricted hand access under the feed discs of the sewing machine, the majority of the loose hair particles are deflected off of the machine housing and out of the region in which the vacuum nozzle is effective. This deficiency is believed to be caused by a number of factors such as the relatively high density of the hair particles dislodged from the fur strips, the relatively high velocity of the positive pressure jet as compared with the velocity of air in the relatively large suction nozzle and the remoteness of the conventionally designed suction nozzle from the fur strips necessitated by the requirement for hand access under the feed discs of the sewing machine.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION In accordance with the present invention, there is provided a loose hair particle collecting attachment for use directly with fur sewing machines of the type referred to above and by which substantially all loose hair particles entrained in a downwardly directed stream of air passing between fur strips to be sewn are intercepted and efficiently collected for disposal. Essentially, the collecting attachment of the invention is in form of a chute or duct shaped to nest against the lower housing portion of a fur sewing machine and also to provide an upwardly opening mouth, the peripheral edges or lips of which lie substantially on the intersection of a dispersion cone concentric with the air stream and a downwardly inclined plane lying above the uppermost particle deflecting surface on the machine housing. The downwardly inclined plane also establishes the upper limits of the chute so that it presents no interference with needed hand access beneath the feeding discs of the machine. In one embodiment, the chute extends downwardly into a porous or formaminous collection bag so that the hair particles are carried downwardly into the bag by the air stream alone, the cleansed air venting through the bag. In an alternative embodiment, a positive pressure air jet assist is located in the chute to aid in the movement of the particles to the collection bag. In still a further embodiment, the chute is connected with the intake of a vacuum cleaner, the output of which is employed to develop the downwardly directed air stream but with a provision for adjustably venting some of the air from the output to enable a functional balancing of the air stream velocity with suction at the mouth of the funnel-like duct.

Among the several objects of the present invention are, therefore: the provision of a highly effective loose hair particle intercepting and collecting attachment for fur sewing machines; the provision of such an attachment which is adaptable directly to existing fur sewing machines of the type most commonly used in the fur industry; and the provision of such an attachment which is simply manufactured and virtually maintenance-free in operation.

Other objects and further scope of applicability of the present invention will become apparent from the detailed description to follow taken in conjunction with the accompanying drawings in which like parts are designated by the same reference numerals.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS FIG. 1 is a perspective view illustrating the loose hair particle collecting attachment of the present invention positioned in relation to a fur sewing machine;

FIG. 2 is a similar perspective view showing the intercepting chute component of the present invention;

FIG. 3 is a perspective view of the chute shown in FIG. 2 but from the opposite side thereof;

FIG. 4 is an enlarged fragmentary cross-section taken on line 4-4 of FIG. 1;

FIG. 5 is a fragmentary cross-section taken on line 55 of FIG. 4;

FIG. 6 is a fragmentary front elevation as seen on line 6-6 of FIG. 4;

FIG. 7 is a perspective view similar to FIG. 1 but illustrating an alternative embodiment of the present invention;

FIG. 8 is an enlarged fragmentary cross-section taken on line 8-8 of FIG. 7;

FIG. 9 is a perspective view illustrating a bag supporting coupling for the embodiment of FIG. 7; and

FIG. 10 is a schematic side elevation illustrating a further embodiment of the invention.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS In FIGS. I-6 of the drawings, one embodiment of the loose hair particle collecting attachment of the present invention is shown to include an upwardly opened intercepting chute generally designated by the reference numeral IOpositioned in operative relation to a fur sewing machine 12 situated near an edge 14 ofa table top 16 or other suitable supporting surface. The sewing machine 12, in itself, is conventional and a complete understanding of its operation may be gained by reference to the several U.S. patents referred to above. With respect to the present invention, however, an appreciation of certain structural portions and/or components of the sewing machine is important. In this context, therefore, it is to be noted that the machine 12 is constituted by a generally upright housing, the overall configuration of which is illustrated in phantom lines in FIG. 1. The housing has an essentially vertical front wall 18 upstanding from an outwardly and downwardly curved and projecting pedestal portion 20 (see FIG. 4). Situated outwardly from the wall 18 is a pair of feeding discs, specifically an inboard disc 22 and an outboard disc 24. As shown, the disc axes are parallel and lie in a vertical plane perpendicular to the wall 18 to define a vertically oriented nip 26 through which strips of fur F l and F are fed skin-side-up or inverted in the direction of the arrow 28. A horizontal needle 30 is supported by a reciprocating mount 32 projecting through the wall 18 and driven in conventional fashion by means (not shown) within the housing. The needle 30 overlies the feed disc 22 and 24 and operates essentially in the vertical plane defined by the disc axes to form a stitched seam S between two fur strips fed through the discs.

The inboard disc 22 is keyed to a vertical drive shaft (not shown) journalled in a boss 34 projecting outwardly from the wall 18 and over the projecting pedestal portion 20. The axis of the inboard disc 22 is, therefore, fixed with respect to the housing of the sewing machine 12 and is intermittently driven by the drive mechanism within the housing. The outboard disc 24, on the other hand, is journalled on a vertical shaft supported by an arm 36 supported on a slide rod 38 cantilevered for sliding movement in a direction parallel to needle reciprocation against a spring bias (not shown) within the housing so that the outboard disc 24 is urged yieldably against the fixed inboard disc 22 at the nip 26.

As disclosed in the more recent of the above cited U.S. patents, the sewing machine 12 incorporates an air conduit 40 extending through the housing to project from the front wall 18 thereof. The conduit 40 is connected by a suitable hose 42 to a source of compressed air (not shown in FIGS. 1-6) and terminates at its front end in the embodiment shown with a fitting 44 in turn supporting an L-shaped conduit 46 providing a downwardly facing discharge orifice 48. As a result of this organization, air is discharged through the orifice 48 during operation downwardly between the two strips of fur F, and F (FIG. 4) to deflect hair downwardly out from between the strips in advance of the formation of the stitched seam S by means including the needle 30. To this end, and as will be appreciated by reference to the orthographic projections of FIGS. 4, 5 and 6, the axis of the discharge orifice 48 is vertically oriented and situated in the vertical plane of the nip 26 through upstream therefrom in terms of the direction of fur strip fed as represented by the arrow 28 in FIG. 1. Although the precise path taken by the arrow 28 in FIG. 1. Although the precise path taken by the air stream discharge from the orifice 48 will vary somewhat in practice as a result of the obstruction presented to it by the fur strips, in general the path of the air stream as well as the loose particles of fur entrained therein will diverge outwardly to establish a conical dispersion path concentric with the axis of the discharge orifice 48 as depicted by the reference letter C in FIG. 4 of the drawings.

The structural configuration of the chute l0 and its relation to the sewing machine 12 may now be understood with reference particularly to FIGS. 2-6 of the drawings. Essentially, the chute is metal or plastic casting having an upper inclined portion 50 and a lower vertical throat portion 52, the latter taking the shape of a rectangular duct, in this embodiment, having front and rear walls 54 and 56. The inner surfaces of walls 54 and 56 merge respectively with a cover portion 58 and an inclined floor 60 in the upper portion 50. Preferably, the inclination of the floor 60 is related to the cover 58 such that together they define a downwardly inclined diverging throat portion 62. As shown in FIG. 4, the floor 60 is formed in a triangular formation 63 to establish a downwardly facing horizontal mounting surface 64 by which the chute may be fixed to the table 16 such as by a screw 66. Also as shown in FIGS. 1, 4 and 6, an air pervious or foraminous collection sack 68 is secured about the vertical duct portion 52 so that loose hair particles entrained in the throat 62 will be passed downwardly into the sack. The air pervious character of the material from which the bag is formed is important from the standpoint of allowing air to pass freely down through the throat with no stoppage or back pressure such as would result by inflation of the bag.

As shown in FIGS. 2 and 4, the floor 60 extends upwardly to tapered or knife edge abutment lip 70 to engage snugly and continuously against the lower vertical portion of the machine pedestal 20. Also as shown in FIGS. 2, 5 and 6, the formation establishing the lip 70 extends upwardly about the infeed side of the pedestal 20 so that the inner portion of the chute at this point constitutes a surface extension of the downwardly curved upper portion of the pedestal 20.

The front or cover wall 58 in the inclined upper portion of the chute I0 is formed to establish an upwardly facing oblong mouth 72 the peripheral edge or lip 74 of which is shaped generally to define the line figure established by the intersection of the dispersion path cone C and a downwardly and outwardly inclined plane P (FIG. 4) lying vertically above the uppermost machine surface in the dispersion path cone. To define this mouth configuration, the infeed or upstream (in relation to the direction of fur strip feed) edge extends upwardly over the pedestal 20 as a runner 76.

As a result of the chute configuration thus described and more particularly as the chute is illustrated in the drawings, it will be appreciated that hair particles entrained in the downwardly diverging stream of air issuing from the conduit orifice 48 will be intercepted by the mouth 72 of the chute and, by virtue of the smoothly contoured essentially curvalinear inner surface configuration of the chute, will be carried downwardly into the collection sack 68. It is to be further noted that because the plane P of the mouth lip 74 lies above surfaces on the machine, particularly the pedestal 20 from which hair particles might be deflected, such particles will be intercepted by the lips of the mouth and carried downwardly through the chute. In addition, the downward and outward inclination of the plane of the lips which establish the uppermost surface portion of the chute, enable maximum clearance between the chute and the feed wheels 22 and 24 so as to not impede in any way hand access to the feed wheels for guiding and feeding the fur strips in the sewing operation.

In the alternative embodiment illustrated in FIGS. 7 and 8 of the drawings, the chute here designated by the reference numeral has the same general configuration as the chute 10 in the previously described embodiment though in this instance, an auxiliary air stream or air assist is provided for advancing the particles entrained in the throat downwardly into the bag 68. Specifically, the triangular formation 63 establishing the floor 60 is bored longitudinally to establish a manifold 78 in communication with a plurality of downwardly inclined discharge orifices 80 openings beneath the throat 62. Air discharged from the orifices 80 will be deflected from the front wall 52 of the lower portion of the chute 10' and directed downwardly into a funnel 82 to which the sack 68 is attached, as shown in FIG. 7, and which is secured at the edge walls of the lower chute portion by suitable means such as screws 84. Also in this embodiment the lower portion of the chute 10' is devoid of a rear wall which is not needed in light of the collecting facility provided by the funnel 82.

As shown in FIG. 7, the manifold 78 is coupled by a hose 86 connected by one leg 88 of a Y-fitting 90 to the output of a blower unit 92. The other output leg 94 of the Y-fitting 90 is connected directly to the hose 42 by which air is supplied to the air discharge orifice on the sewing machine 12. Thus in operation of the embodiment illustrated in FIGS. 7 and 8, air issuing from the orifices 80 will establish a downwardly directed curtain of air by which loose hair particles collected by the mouth 72 of the chute 10 will be forced downwardly into the sack 68 through the funnel 82.

In a still further embodiment illustrated in FIG. 10 of the drawings, the chute here designated by the reference numeral 10" is, apart from the manifold 78 and orifices 80, identical in all respects to the chute l0 illustrated in FIGS. 7 and 8 of the drawings. In this embodiment, however, a conventional vacuum cleaner 96 is employed both for collecting the loose particles of hair and for developing the stream of air to be discharged from the downwardly facing orifice 48 on the sewing machine 12. Hence, a hose 98 is connected directly between the funnel 82 and the intake fitting 100 of the vacuum cleaner whereas the output fitting 102 thereof is connected by a hose 104 to the air conduit 40 of the sewing machine 12.

To enable a functional balance between the air stream or jet issuing downwardly from the orifice 48 and the suction developed at the funnel 82, an adjustable venting valve 106 is provided in the conduit 40. Because of the vent valve 106, the pressure at which air is emitted from the orifice 48 may be regulated as needed for optimum fur sewing operations without reducing substantially the negative pressure or suction at the funnel 82. Accordingly, the vaccum cleaner 96 may have greater power than that which could be tolerated for the development of the downwardly directed air stream.

Thus it will be seen that by this invention an unique and highly effective loose hair particle collecting attachment is provided for fur sewing machines of the type referred to and by which the above mentioned objects are completely fulfilled. It will be appreciated further that in light of the foregoing description, structural changes and/or modifications may be made in one of the disclosed embodiments without departing from the spirit of the invention. It is expressly intended, therefore, that the foregoing description is illustrative of preferred embodiments only, not limiting, and that the true spirit and scope of the present invention be determined by reference to the appended claims.

I claim;

1. A loose hair particle collecting attachment adapted for use with a fur sewing machine having a housing with an essentially vertical wall upstanding from an outwardly projecting pedestal housing portion, a sewing needle, reciprocable means projecting from the housing wall to move the sewing needle along a horizontal axis, inboard and outboard feeding discs lying in a horizontal plane beneath the needle and defining a vertically oriented nip through which inverted strips of fur are fed past the needle to form a stitched seam between two such strips, the discs being rotatable about parallel vertical axes defining a vertical plane parallel to the axis of sewing needle movement, the inboard disc being spaced outwardly from the housing wall but overlying the pedestal housing portion, the machine also having an air conduit with a downwardly facing discharge orifice located above the plane of the feed discs and upstream of the needle in terms of strip feed direction so as to direct a stream of air downwardly between the strips and deflect hair on the strips downwardly out from between the strips in advance of the stitched seam formation and so that loose hair particles dislodged from the strips are projected downwardly in a diverging dispersion path defined essentially by a cone concentric with the axis of the discharge orifice, said attachment comprising: a collecting chute having an upwardly facing mouth, the peripheral edge of said mouth having a configuration defined by the intersection of the dispersion path cone and a plane inclined downwardly and outwardly, said plane lying vertically above the uppermost hair particle deflecting surface on said housing and said housing pedestal portion, thereby to intercept substantially all such hair particles dislodged from the fur strips; and means to collect the hair particles so intercepted by said mouth.

2. The apparatus recited in claim 1 wherein said last mentioned means comprises an air pervious sack.

3. The apparatus recited in claim 2 including means to develop an auxiliary air stream in said chute to assist in advancing hair particles through said chute.

4. The apparatus recited in claim 3 wherein said chute is shaped to define a throat positioned beneath said mouth and wherein said air stream developing means includes an elongated manifold adapted to receive air under pressure, and a plurality of downwardly directed orifices in communication between said manifold and said throat.

5. The apparatus recited in claim 1 wherein said last mentioned means includes a source of vacuum associated with a collecting receptacle means for connecting said vacuum source to said chute.

6. The apparatus recited in claim 5 including means to balance the negative pressure of said vacuum with the positive pressure of air delivered to the machine air conduit for directing the stream of air downwardly between the strips of fur.

7. The apparatus recited in claim 1 wherein said chute is a casting having an inclined upper portion connected integrally with a vertical duct portion, and wherein said casting is formed to define a downwardly diverging throat portion between said mouth and said duct portion. 

1. A loose hair particle collecting attachment adapted for use with a fur sewing machinE having a housing with an essentially vertical wall upstanding from an outwardly projecting pedestal housing portion, a sewing needle, reciprocable means projecting from the housing wall to move the sewing needle along a horizontal axis, inboard and outboard feeding discs lying in a horizontal plane beneath the needle and defining a vertically oriented nip through which inverted strips of fur are fed past the needle to form a stitched seam between two such strips, the discs being rotatable about parallel vertical axes defining a vertical plane parallel to the axis of sewing needle movement, the inboard disc being spaced outwardly from the housing wall but overlying the pedestal housing portion, the machine also having an air conduit with a downwardly facing discharge orifice located above the plane of the feed discs and upstream of the needle in terms of strip feed direction so as to direct a stream of air downwardly between the strips and deflect hair on the strips downwardly out from between the strips in advance of the stitched seam formation and so that loose hair particles dislodged from the strips are projected downwardly in a diverging dispersion path defined essentially by a cone concentric with the axis of the discharge orifice, said attachment comprising: a collecting chute having an upwardly facing mouth, the peripheral edge of said mouth having a configuration defined by the intersection of the dispersion path cone and a plane inclined downwardly and outwardly, said plane lying vertically above the uppermost hair particle deflecting surface on said housing and said housing pedestal portion, thereby to intercept substantially all such hair particles dislodged from the fur strips; and means to collect the hair particles so intercepted by said mouth.
 2. The apparatus recited in claim 1 wherein said last mentioned means comprises an air pervious sack.
 3. The apparatus recited in claim 2 including means to develop an auxiliary air stream in said chute to assist in advancing hair particles through said chute.
 4. The apparatus recited in claim 3 wherein said chute is shaped to define a throat positioned beneath said mouth and wherein said air stream developing means includes an elongated manifold adapted to receive air under pressure, and a plurality of downwardly directed orifices in communication between said manifold and said throat.
 5. The apparatus recited in claim 1 wherein said last mentioned means includes a source of vacuum associated with a collecting receptacle means for connecting said vacuum source to said chute.
 6. The apparatus recited in claim 5 including means to balance the negative pressure of said vacuum with the positive pressure of air delivered to the machine air conduit for directing the stream of air downwardly between the strips of fur.
 7. The apparatus recited in claim 1 wherein said chute is a casting having an inclined upper portion connected integrally with a vertical duct portion, and wherein said casting is formed to define a downwardly diverging throat portion between said mouth and said duct portion. 